Let the food be thy medicine and the medicine be thy food – A famous greek proverb, can’t be more right! Anemia is not a disease, it is a good news. Wondering why would anyone say that? Relax, but it is the fact. It can be an indication of some serious illnesses and that is actually a worse news you could encounter. In order to avoid this, you will have to check with your doctor first and ensure that you don’t have any signs of anemia.
Types
There are three types of it.
- Hemolytic anemia
- Sideroblastic anemia
- Sickle cell anemia
These can occur due to malfunctioning of your body that can be treated only with proper medical intervention. If everything is alright but still you are diagnosed with anemia, then it is due to nutritional deficiency.
Causes
- By blood loss
- The destruction of red blood cells
- Decreased or faulty red blood cell production
The causes are unnecessary dieting as well as over exercising. They can also trigger symptoms in someone who is already at the risk. But when you add vitamin C to the diet, it can improve the bioavailability of iron in your body.
Make sure to avoid excess consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine since they interfere with the rate of absorption of iron in your body. A regular hemoglobin count test and talk with your doctor can help to prevent the condition.
How To Prevent Anemia?
Breastfeed your baby at least for a year
Once upon a time, it was strongly believed that breastfed babies were in need of iron supplements since it is believed a mom’s breast milk was low in iron. But, to everyone’s surprise, breastfed infants studied at four to six months of age had a higher hemoglobin than the babies who were fed iron-fortified formula. Also, breastfed babies have been found to have ample iron stores for 9 months or even longer than that. Human milk remains as a vital part of a baby’s diet, even after the introduction of solids.
Use an iron-fortified formula
If bottle feeding, better to use an iron-fortified formula, beginning at birth preferably, but at least starting by 3 months of age. So, continue iron-fortified formula for one year or as long as your infant’s doctor recommends, that is usually until your infant is eating sufficient amounts of other dietary sources of iron. Don’t use any low-iron formulas, that do not contain ample iron for the need of a growing baby.
Use Probiotics for a Healthy Gut
In order to overcome anemia naturally, you need to start getting your gut healthy with the probiotics. Here, the principle is not you’re what you eat. Rather, it is you’re what you digest. If you are not digesting properly and assimilating by absorbing nutrients properly, you are not absorbing any iron.
So technically, for a lot of people will be taking iron supplements and working. The reason is that your digestive system is not healthy. You probably have a condition called as leaky gut syndrome. This doesn’t allow you to properly absorb the iron and certain other vitamins and minerals, such as benefit-rich vitamin B12, zinc, and magnesium.
Bake with iron-rich grains
Usual wheat used to make pastries and bread is relatively low in iron which is probably around 1 mg of iron per half cup. The lesser known grains, quinoa 9 mg per half cup is much richer in iron. The Barley grains contain 4 mg of iron per half cup. When you mix these grains into the wheat flour and use when you bake, it will increase the iron content of the food.
Ample folic acid and vitamin B12
As anemia can occur due to lack of folate or vitamin B12, both of which are important to make healthy red blood cells. By getting enough folic acid as well as vitamin B12 you can prevent anemia. You can find Vitamin B12 in foods such as organ meats, fish, and egg yolk. Also, you can find folic acid in dried or fresh beans, corn, turnip greens, spinach, and enriched grains.
Above all, A balanced and healthy diet is also one of the vital requirements for preventing anemia. Ensure adequate intake of iron, vitamins such as B12 and folic acid, as well as supplements. In case if you feel the diet is not adequate, then you may need to consult your doctor and take some iron supplements to prevent it.
